# hogweed (*Heracleum sphondylium*)

Hogweed is a tall plant with big, white flowers that look like umbrellas! It grows in fields and along roadsides, making it easy to spot in nature.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 3/5 · Moderate
- **Habitat:** Grasslands
- **Also known as:** Cow Parsnip

![hogweed](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Heracleum_sphondylium_Berenklauw.jpg&width=800)

Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heracleum_sphondylium_Berenklauw.jpg)

## Appearance

The hogweed has stout, often reddish-purple stems and large, deeply lobed leaves resembling a hand. Its flowers form striking flat-topped clusters of small white or pinkish-white blossoms, resembling an umbrella. It can grow much taller than a person.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Apiales
- **Family:** Apiaceae
- **Genus:** Heracleum

## Interesting facts

- Even ancient Romans recorded using hogweed as a food source and herbal remedy.
- Hogweed can produce thousands of seeds from just one plant, ensuring it pops up everywhere!
- Its name "hogweed" comes from pigs, who love to eat its tasty roots and leaves!
- The plant’s thick, hollow stems were sometimes used to make simple flutes by kids long ago!

## Special abilities

- **Sun Shield:** Hogweed sap contains chemicals that make skin extra sensitive to sunlight, causing a rash. This helps it deter hungry animals.
- **Seed Sprinter:** This plant produces thousands of flat, oval seeds that are easily carried by wind or water, helping it spread quickly.
- **Reach for the Sky:** Hogweed grows very tall very fast, helping it grab more sunlight than shorter plants around it.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 50-200 cm
- **Spread:** 30-100 cm
- **Flower Size:** 10-20 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Summer
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** Mild
- **Lifecycle:** Biennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Vital for spreading pollen between hogweed plants.
- **Pollinates:** Red Admiral butterfly (*Vanessa atalanta*) — Feeds on nectar, helping to pollinate.
- **Eaten by:** hogweed moth (*Agonopterix heracleana*) — Its caterpillars feed on hogweed leaves and seeds.
- **Eats:** [Roe Deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/roe-deer) (*Capreolus capreolus*) — Deer occasionally browse on hogweed foliage.

## Traits

- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Biennial](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/biennial): Biennial plants complete their life cycle over two growing seasons, typically forming foliage in the first year and flowering/seeding in the second.
- [Cluster Flower](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/cluster-flower): Cluster flowers are inflorescences where individual flowers are arranged closely together on a common stem.
- [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.
- [Giant](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/giant): Giant describes organisms or objects of significantly larger size than average for their species or type.
- [Invasive](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/invasive): Invasive species are non-native organisms that cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 3/5 · Moderate

Be careful not to touch hogweed, as its sap can cause skin irritation.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify hogweed?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is hogweed?

50-200 cm

### How wide does hogweed spread?

30-100 cm

### How big are the flowers on hogweed?

10-20 cm

### When does hogweed bloom?

Summer

### Is hogweed edible?

No

### Is hogweed toxic?

Mild

### What is hogweed's lifecycle?

Biennial

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Hogweed: Characteristics, Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/hogweed)